Road guide



April 9, I H O PET-HT ROAD GUIDE Filed Jan. 3, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l IV ////////////A .12 Inventor s (7 J0. fl fiai Attorney April 9, O 1 1,997,342

' ROAD GUIDE Filed Jan. 3, ,1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor p mm Attomey Patented Apr. 9, 1935 UN TED-STATES PATENT oFFiacE 'RoAn GUID 7 Harold O. Pettit, Palmerton Pa. Application January 3, 1934, Serial No. 705,112

r Claim. (or 40-52) This invention relates to a class of devices for an automobileto guide the'operator along a strange road, and the principalobject of the invention is to provide a guide of this character which will give to an operator of the vehicle travelling over a given'road the right and left turns sufiiciently in advance of the time they are to bemade; andalso "to give to the driver of an'au'tomobile trailing the first a signal" as to the direction the leading automobile is about to take. a A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this characterwhich will not only serve as a roadguide but also as a vehicle direction signal. 1 The invention together with its objects and advantageswill be best understood from a study of the following description takenin connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing the instrument mounted withinanautomobile. V

Figure 2 is a sectional viewthrough the de- Figures 3, 4 and 5 are detail views taken substantially on'the lines 3-.3, 4-4-and 5-.-5 respectively of Figure 2.

Figures 6 and 7 are detail,sectionalviewstak-t en substantially on the line 6+5 spectively of Figure 1. a Figure 8 is a detail view through thecoupling for the flexible shaft associated with thetpro-t peller shaft of a vehicle, the speedometer and a shaft forming part of the :device of the invention. l l Figure 9 is a wiring diagram, and Figure 10 is a plan View of a portion ofthe tape. r

Referring to the drawings by the reference numerals it will be seen-that the device comprises and 11-! rea casing II] which is adaptedto beltsuitably mounted inrear of the instrument board ll of. the vehicle as suggested in Figure l. In thepre ferred form thereof thecasing I0 is divided horizontally into a bottom section I2 and a top section 13 hinged at one end as at M and provided at a relatively opposite end with suitable latch means HE. A hinge cover I6 isprovided for the casing and latch means I! is provided for securing the covering in closed position.

Provided within the casing 10 for properly supporting an indicia bearing tape l8 are reels or spools l9 and 2B; the latter being a pay out spool and the former being a take up spool. The spools are substantially identical in construction.

Shaft 25 on which the spool E9 is secured. to rotate therewith has one end projecting beyond one side of the casing 19 and equipped with a gear 22in mesh with a'worrn 23 fixed to a shaft 24 'ournalled in a suitable bracket structure 25 mounted on said oneside of the casing ID. The shaft 24 is provided with a second gear 26 that meshes with a worm 27 provided on the short shaft 28 journalled in an-inclinecl bearing 29 formed integral with thebracket 25. g a For operating'the device of the invention incidental-to the operation of the speedometer 30 there is provided a substantially T-shaped housing 3! in which are pournalled shafts 32', 32, the latter having its oposite ends respectively connected in a conventional manner with flexible; shafts 33; 34; shaft 33 being connected with thelaforementioned shaft 28 and shaft 34 being connectedwith the proper shaft of the speedometer '30 as will be clear from a study of Figure 1. Shaft 32 is driven from the propeller shaft of the vehicle and is'geared to shaft 32 as at 32a. The tape l8 may have chartered; mapped or otherwise provided thereon indicia as to the particular route or road so as to be useful to'an operator of fan automobile in indicating such ma formation as will aid the operator'during the course of travel over a given road. 1

0111 Figure 10 thereis shown a portion of the tape iii! and asshown', the tape willlbe provided at certain points thereon contactor. buttons-35, 36 and-3l respectively to be used, as will be'hereinafter more manifest, for indicating a left turn; or a right turn, or a straightaway stretch of road. l

LMounted in the section 93 of the casing l0 and extending transversely .of said section is a block 38 of insulating material and secured to this block and extending transversely thereof inf laterally spaced relation are contact plates 39, 4'0 and 4|, and as clearly shown in Figure 2 each of said plates has its opposite ends curved downwardly so as not tointerfere withthe proper m'ovementof the tape lt" over said contacts '39, 40 and 4|. 7

Secured to the under side of the cover l6 and so positioned as to overlie the plates 38 there is a plate 4!! of insulating material to which is se- 7 cured a plate 4! of conductive material. Anchored to the, plate 4! adjacent one end thereof are spring contact fingers 42, 43 and 44 and these longitudinally bowed contact fingers are slightly spaced above the tape 58 as shown in Figure 2.

Visual as well as audible signal means is provided for notifying the operator in advance of,

, colored glass, preferably a red glass 4'5 bearing suitable indicia to indicate left turn, while a second one of the lamps is located adjacent to a preferably yellow colored glass 48 bearing suitable indicia to indicate a straight stretch of road ahead while the third lamp is located adjacent to a glass 49 which may be colored green and provided with suitable indicia for indicating right turn. A similar signal element indicated generally by the reference numeral 50 will be located at the rear of the automobile for giving the signals above suggested to the operator of an automobile in the rear or following the automobile equipped with this invention.

7 'An audible signal device, the same in the present instance being in the nature of a horn is arranged in the circuit as suggested in Figure 9 so that when a lamp in each of the signal devices 45 and 50 is lit. for giving a visual signal thehorn 5| will be sounded for giving an audible signal.

As-thought apparent the contact button on the tape 18 will serve to bridge contact elements 1 39 and 42 while'the contact button 36 will serve tact with the contact elements 39 and 42 the circuit willbe completed to that lamp of the signal 45 adjacent to the glass 41 and also corresponding lamp as well as through the horn 5! with the result that by the sounding of the born 5! the operators attention is called to the device, and through the-medium of the signal 45 he will be posted to the fact that he is approaching a leftturn in the road. At the same time the operator of a vehicle in the rear will be notified in advance that the leading vehicle will within reasonable time or at a short distance ahead change his direction of travel to the left. In this way the operator of the following vehicle will also be more or less warned of the condition of the road ahead.

,As is obvious the engagement of a contact button 35 with the contact 45, 43 will close the circuit through the lamp of the signals 45,- which will indicate straight stretch ahead. and also complete the circuit to the horn 5| to attract the attention qf the operator to the signal 45. Likewise engagement of a contact button 3'! with the contact 4| and 44 will serve to close those lamps of the signals 45 and 50 which will indicate a right turn and also close the circuit to the horns of the vehicle to attract the attention of the operator to the signal 45 upon completion of the circuit to the last mentioned lamps.

To prepare the strip H? for the contact buttons 35, 36 and 31, so that the buttons may be placed thereon at the correct proportional intervals there are provided means for punching holes in the strip at. the proper intervals as the strip, minus of course the buttons 35, 3B, 3'! is, during the course of travel of the vehicle over a particular road, fed'from the reel 20 to the reel 49 r there are provided means now to be described. Such means consists in the provision of three punch rods 52 laterally spaced from one another transversely of the casing Ill and vertically slidable through apertures provided in the top of a combined guide andflbox like casing member 53 that is suitably secured to the cover l6 of the box or casing Hi.v The punch rods 52 are normally urged upwardly through the medium of springs 54 housed within the structure 53 and impinging at'their upper ends against collars 55' suitably provided on the rods 52. As shown in Figure 2 the insulating block 45, the conductor plate 4|, each of the spring fingers 4 2, 43 and 44, eachof the, contact members 39, 49 and 4i and the block 38. of insulating material are suitably vaperturedto permit the downward passage therethrough and through the tape l8 of the proper punch rod 52 for perforating the. tape 8 at the proper location thereon to accommodate as wellas also to indicate the proper location of one of the contact buttons 35, 36 and 31;

For rewinding the tape l8 onto the pay out reel 20 the shaft 56 of said reel is provided on one end thereof with a suitable handle 51 for rotating the reel 20in a clockwise direction to wind the'tape l8 thereon.

Having thus described I claim as new is:

A route indicator for vehicles comprising a casing, a pair of shafts rotatably supported in the casing, means for rotating one shaft from a movable part of the vehicle,.a spool on each shaft, a tape having its ends connected with the spools, an insulated bar supported in the casing and over which the tape passes as it travels from one spool to the other, contact strips supported by the bar in spaced relation and having their endscurving downwardly,'the tape passing over the contact strips, abar of insulating material connected with the top of the casing my invention, what above the first bar, metal fingers connected with the lower face of the second mentioned bar and extending over the contact strips and spaced 

